One of our beloved school monuments, the Tiger Head, was removed from the face of the building when renovations began years ago. Thanks to members of the National Art Honor Society, the Tiger Head was restored and now has a new home facing the stadium.
“I think it’s a symbol of our school. It’s a symbol of our mascot. And I think it’s, it’s something fun that helps us spread tradition and stay true to ourselves.” Senior Khaliah Dye said.
The Tiger Head is a symbol of our Mascot, and spreads a sense of pride for our school. The Tiger Head has been at the school for many generations, and was missed when it was gone.
“I don’t think we should have gotten rid of the Tiger Head because there’s so many people that are sad that it is not on the front of the building anymore. So even though it’s not there, I’m glad that we still get to have it for people to see,” sophomore Natalie Newkirk said.
People were really saddened by the fact that the Tiger Head is not in front of the building anymore. The Tiger Head had to have a lot of touching up after it went so long without any repair.
The restoration was not a quick or easy process.
“It took the span of like two or three months, I think. We sanded it down, and then we put, I think we put a primer, and then layers of like, car paint on it, and then we put a gloss over it so that, like, if it rains, or something like, it won’t wear down the paint like it did before,” sophomore Jimmy Shipman said.
The art students took time out of their day to help renovate the Tiger Head. It was a volunteer opportunity, and it was just to help. Students did not get anything out of it except that they helped restore a valuable school monument to its former glory.
“There was a sign up sheet that you could, you could sign up on, and I decided that I would like to leave school and do some art, so I decided to sign up,” sophomore Georgia Graves said.
While working on the Tiger Head, students learned about more than just art.
“I learned a lot about the history of the Tiger Head when I was doing it that I never knew before. I never realized how important it was to other people until, like, they posted it on Facebook,” Dye said.
Once the photos of the restoration were posted to Facebook, members of the community were excited to talk to the students who restored the Tiger Head.
“People on Facebook were like, ‘you redid the Tiger Head!’ I would be out in public and people were like, ‘oh yeah, I saw you on Facebook. You redid the Tiger Head!’ And so it made me realize, like, people really care about that stuff. Especially with our school, that you think of the Tiger Head when you’re driving by. So I think it’s really important. And it helped me realize that,” Dye said.
All in all the Tiger Head is a very important monument, and was missed during it’s brief absence. The Tiger Head gives the school a sense of pride that no one can take away.
“It makes me happy every time I get to walk past it or see it on the side of the building and it makes me excited for more high school years to come,” Graves said.
